Little Arctic
by Mei-chan4
Summary: America finds a new country just off the Arctic coast. The only inhabitant of the little country is the country itself, a small baby boy. The others must now decide who gets to be the 'big brother' of this new country.
1. Arktos

**Hello and Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a fabulous holiday season! **

**For those of you that read my other stories, this is the eleventh series in the Baby Universe. For those of you that are new, I hope you will enjoy this story!**

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America shifted the odd wiggling and whining lump underneath his shirt nervously. He hoped none of the others would notice. As casually as possible, America snuck into the meeting room, and slipped into his seat, doing his best to ignore the incredulous stares he was receiving. He adjusted the lump when it gave a cry of protest at being squished against the table.

"Hey, America," Feliciano asked, grinning over at the nervous looking country. "Whatcha got there?"

"Nothing!" America answered quickly. He glowered suspiciously at the curious Italian as said man came over and poked the lump.

England frowned as a chubby little hand slipped out of the bottom of America's shirt and snatched a cracker off the plate China had put out earlier. "America, what the bloody hell is that?"

"…my food baby." America answered.

At that moment, France ran into the meeting room, a look of terror on his face. "There's a Wooly Mammoth in the hallway! Why is there a Wooly Mammoth in the hallway?"

At that moment, whatever was in America's shirt slid out. A loud plop resounded through the room followed by a little cry. All the countries looked first at America whom was doing his best to not look guilty before they all simultaneously looked under the table.

A tiny, tan baby blinked back at all of them with large black eyes. Black tufts of hair poked out from under his furry hooded jacket. The baby stared around curiously, sucking on his pacifier. The baby shakily stood up and latched onto America's leg.

"It's a miracle!" America laughed nervously as he picked the baby up. "My food baby was born!"

"That's not a food baby!" England and a few other countries shouted together.

Germany could feel a migraine coming on as the room suddenly burst into loud shouting. America was dangling the baby high up in the air, keeping him out of reach of the other clamoring countries. The baby's look of curiosity was turning into one of distress. It didn't help matters when the baby opened his mouth to make a noise and his pacifier fell out. The baby let out an ear piercing cry, wailing at the top of his tiny little lungs. Germany had had enough. "Be quiet!"

Everyone fell silent save for the baby whom continued to cry. Feliciano quickly plucked the pacifier off the floor, brushed it off and shoved into the baby's mouth. "Shhh." He whispered to the baby. "Germany will get mad if you keep making noises."

Germany sighed and flopped back into his seat. He waited until everyone else had seated themselves before glaring over at America. "Explain."

America looked down at the baby in his lap and grinned when the baby tilted his head up to look at him. "I found him! I was exploring the world, seeing if anyone need help, since I'm the hero, and I came across a little island just off the Artic coast. I decided to explore it and I found him. He's one of us, just a cute little baby country."

The baby let out a whine of protest as America began snuggling him. He looked around the room and wanted to start crying when he saw how intently all the strange people were looking at him. Immediately, the baby crawled back under America's shirt to hide.

Germany refrained from rolling his eyes. "Well, now we have to decide what to do with him."

"What do you mean?" America asked, frowning. "I found him. I get to be his big brother."

"We don't need another idiot." England fumed. "I'll be his big brother."

"Nonsense!" France interjected. "I shall be his big brother!"

"Oh, can I be his big brother?" Feliciano asked.

"No!" Everyone shouted.

While the countries were once again bickering, the little baby crawled out of America's shirt and climbed up onto the table. He looked around for more of the yummy crackers he had had earlier. He saw a large plate of crackers in front of China and toddled over.

China blinked as the little baby plopped down in front of him. "You like the snacks, aru?" The only answer he received was the baby shoving more crackers into his mouth. "Good baby, aru." He said as he patted the baby's head.

The baby blinked when all the crackers were gone. These people were so noisy. Especially the blonde that he had heard the others call Germany. The man really needed to calm down. The baby toddled over to Germany and plopped down in front of the man.

Germany paused in his yelling, looking suspiciously at the baby. "What?" He stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, as the baby shoved his pacifier into Germany's mouth.

The baby grinned up at Germany and held a chubby finger to his lips. "Shhh. Night-night."

The table fell deathly silent before breaking into howling laughter. Germany's face was a mix between shock and murderous intent. The baby toddled back over to America and climbed into his lap.

Germany yanked the pacifier from his mouth and threw it at America, smirking in satisfaction as the pacifier smacked the young country in the side of the head. "Well, it seems the baby is more comfortable with America right now. For the time being, we'll allow you to keep him, America."

America grinned and held the baby up in the air. "Did you hear that, Baby?" He frowned as he smelled something rather disgusting. "What is that?"

England smirked. "That is a dirty diaper. Since you are in charge of him, you must change him."

"I don't want to!" America whined. "I'm the hero! Hero's shouldn't have to do things like that!"

The baby blinked as someone held up his pacifier for him. He smiled as the person gave him back his pacifier. This person had black hair and eyes like him but was rather pale.

"I will change him, America-san." Japan said softly, taking the little baby from the still whining country. "What's his name anyways?"

America stopped in his whining for a moment. "Oh, the tag on the back of his shirt says Arktos."

"Is that your name?" Japan asked. He cracked a small smile as the baby nodded his head. "Well, welcome, Arktos-chan."


	2. Getting Settled In

**Yay, I'm glad so many people liked the first chapter! I'm really sorry for the long delay in updates. It's been a combination of school being crazy and not being quite sure what direction I wanted this story to go. Thank you all for your patience!**

**Sakura02: I love him too! Hopefully, he won't be near as emo as the other babies XD**

**Hannah: Actually, it's twelve stories now :)**

**Akatsuki-Hidan Blackhei: Aw, thanks so much! **

**Not So Temperamental Artist: Thank you :)**

**SaiyukiSucker: Lol, I love writing how Arktos interacts with the different countries.**

**Song of the Cursed Child: Thank you! **

**animeXbooksXmanga: Haha, yeah. **

**hinatablueeyes708: Thank you :)**

**Lotrfan1232: Thank you. Again, I apologize for the long delay in updates.**

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"Well, Arktos, what do you think of your new home?" America grinned as Arktos clutched tightly to his hand.

Arktos stared around the large house in awe, his pacifier almost slipping out of his mouth. He had never seen so a big house before. He tugged on America's hand until said country scooped him up.

America spent the next hour showing Arktos around the extravagant house. He showed him the kitchen, America's room, the music room, and the large garden out in the back. "And this," America said with a flourish as he opened a door down the hall from America's room. "is your room. What do you think?" He grinned as he put Arktos on the ground.

Arktos looked slowly around the room. The walls were painted a light blue that reminded him of the sea that surrounded his little island. There was a large chest brimming with toys right beside a closet. A tiny bookshelf filled with books was nestled in a corner beside a rocking chair. A crib stood against the wall opposite of the closet, stuffed animals and the softest looking sheets inside. "Mine?" He asked, looking hopefully up at America.

"Yup. This is all yours." America grinned. "Do you like it?"

Arktos nodded his head excitedly. He perked up as there was a rather loud knock at the door. "Who?"

America shrugged, picking Arktos up. "I don't know. "Let's go find out."

Feliciano grinned up at America and Arktos came down the stairs, the maid having let him in. "Hello, Arktos!"

Arktos looked curiously at Feliciano before burying his face in America's neck. "Hi." He said shyly.

"What are you doing here?" America asked impatiently. "Don't you have someone else to bother?"

Feliciano pouted. "Aw, don't be like that. I just wanted to see how baby Arktos was settling in. Don't you want to have me for your big brother, Arktos?"

"No, he does not!" America snapped, holding Arktos protectively to him. "I'm his big brother and it's going to stay that way! Right, Arktos?"

Arktos looked between the two, not quite sure what they were talking about with the whole big brother thing. He didn't even know what a big brother was. "Shhh." He finally said.

America would've protested at being shushed by his little brother were it not for the giant wooly mammoth storming into the house. Feliciano squealed and leapt out of the way to avoid being trampled.

"Mine!" Arktos squealed joyfully, waving his arms to the wooly mammoth that was attempting to climb up the stairs towards him.

"No wooly mammoths upstairs!" America shouted. He had to move Arktos into one arm and, with Feliciano's help along with some of the house staff helping, they managed to herd the wooly mammoth out into the gardens.

"So, what are you going to do about the mammoth?" Feliciano asked, watching with mild interest as the mammoth plopped down in the middle of the garden.

"Mine." Arktos repeated, slapping his hands against the window.

America shrugged helplessly. "I don't think he's going to leave while Arktos is here."

"I'll take him." Feliciano offered, holding his arms out to try and take Arktos away.

Arktos blinked as he was yanked away from the window and held protectively against America's chest.

"No!" America shouted. "He's my little brother. The mammoth can live in the garden. Now, go away!"

But, Feliciano didn't go away. He spent the rest of the day at America's house, playing with Arktos and even helping (in his own Feliciano way) America bathe and feed Arktos before the little baby's bed time.

"Good night, Baby Brother." America said as he put Arktos in the crib.

Arktos held one chubby hand up. "Night-night…big bwother." He blinked as America suddenly lifted him up out of his crib and snuggled him. What a strange brother he had…whatever a brother was. As soon as America left the room, Arktos nodded off to sleep, dreaming of his little island home.


	3. Baking With Germany

**I am so sorry for my long absence everyone! It was the end of the semester and Physics was kicking my butt. I'm all done now with the Spring semester so updates should be much more frequent :) Thank you all for your patience and continued support!**

**Sakura02: Ha, I actually did figure out a semi-plot for a story and a way to work in emo moments XD**

**Miss Snicket McGidgette: Arktos translates to northern/bear**

**Thanks: Darkness Revolution, Lotrfan1232, QueenOfBeasts, Hannah, Yami Mizuna, and EliteKessu for reviewing!**

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Germany groaned as he heard loud, insistent banging at his door. He did his best to ignore it, hoping whoever was there would give up and go away. After five more minutes of continual banging, Germany snarled and flew from his bed, ready to give whoever what was at his door a piece of his mind. He blinked against the bright sunlight and was startled when he felt something shoved into his arms.

"Good morning!" America grinned.

"What are you doing here?" Germany grouched. He blinked as whatever was in his arms began moving. He looked down and came face to face with Arktos, whom was looking up at him curiously.

America's grin never faltered. "I have some things to do today so I need you to watch Arktos for me! I'll see you later!" America ran off before Germany had a chance to protest.

Germany opened and closed his mouth a few times before sighing and looking down at the toddler in his arms. Arktos was still staring at him with that same curious, wide eyed look. "I suppose I can't leave you outside…" Germany sighed reluctantly before going back into his house.

Unsure of what to do with the child, Germany sat Arktos down on the floor. He crouched down in front of Arktos and jabbed a finger at him. "Now, you listen here. I'm not like that punk that just left you. You better listen to me or there will be consequences!"

Arktos blinked, crossing his eyes to stare at Germany's finger. He reached up and latched onto Germany's finger with his two tiny ones, a bright smile on his chubby face. "'Ermany."

Germany blinked, taken aback by the clearly happy face Arktos had. He sighed and picked the little country up. "Well, I suppose I should do something to keep you out of trouble." He swayed back and forth on his heels, trying to think of something that would entertain the small child. He had no clue what children liked to do though! He was shaken from his thoughts as Arktos was furiously struggling in his grasp, the small baby flailing his arms around frantically. Germany looked up to see what Arktos was trying so desperately to reach and was surprised that Arktos was reaching for the freshly baked cookies Germany had just baked. "I don't think babies are allowed to eat cookies…"

Arktos pouted up at Germany. "'ookie!" He moved his hands in the air in a stirring motion. "'ookie!" He repeated.

Germany raised an eyebrow. "You want to make cookies?" When Arktos nodded excitedly, Germany sighed. "All right." As he walked with Arktos into the kitchen, he had a sinking feeling he'd regret this decision.

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"No, Arktos! Get that out of your mouth!" Germany shouted, trying to pull the stirring spoon out of Arktos's mouth.

Arktos glared stubbornly at Germany, his tiny hands clutching tightly to the spoon. He liked the cookie batter and he'd be damned if he let Germany take the spoon away from him.

Finally, Germany managed to yank the spoon from Arktos's mouth. His smirk of triumph quickly disappeared as Arktos's face scrunched up and the little baby began howling at the top of his lungs. "Stop!"

"Mine!" Was the only coherent word Arktos managed to blubber out as he reached desperately for the spoon. His eyes lit up in delight as Germany shoved the spoon back in his hand. Arktos happily stuck the spoon in his mouth while Germany stomped over to the oven to check on the cookies.

Germany peered into the oven, decided the cookies need a few more minutes, and then decided to inspect the damage done to his kitchen. The counter was completely covered in flour, sugar, and egg yolks. Arktos's attempts at 'helping' had ended rather horribly and Germany was not looking forward to cleaning the mess up.

He blinked when he felt Arktos tugging impatiently at his pant leg. He looked down only to find Arktos holding up the spoon. "What?"

Arktos tilted his head to the side. "I share?" He asked.

Germany stared at the little baby clinging to his pant leg before smiling. He knelt down and patted Arktos's head. "Thank you, Arktos."

Arktos grinned as Germany took the spoon from him. He didn't notice Germany promptly put the spoon in the sink to be washed. "I share!" He perked up as the timer Germany had set went off. "'ookie!"

Germany nudged Arktos out of the way with his foot, making the little baby slide across the floor and away from the oven. "Stay. You don't touch the oven, do you understand?"

Arktos nodded rapidly, scooting himself a few inches further away from the oven. "No o'en."

Satisfied, Germany pulled the cookies out of the oven and placed them on a cooling rack. "You can't have one yet. They need to cool. What do you…" Germany turned around, only to find Arktos curled up on the floor, sound asleep. He sighed and picked the little baby up. He carried the small boy upstairs to his room and gently tucked him in. Germany cracked a small smile as Arktos curled up into a tight ball. "Sleep well, Little One."

An hour later, America returned. Germany went upstairs and retrieved the still sleeping Arktos from his room. Before America left, Germany wrapped some of the cookies in a small bag for Arktos to take home.

America grinned. "Thanks for watching him!" He turned around and began walking away.

Slowly, the motion woke Arktos up. He blinked open sleepy eyes. He smiled when he saw it was America carrying him. He looked over America's shoulder and saw Germany standing in the doorway. With a sleepy smile, Arktos waved at him. "Bye-bye, 'Ermany." He then rested his head on America's shoulder and went back to sleep, missing Germany waving back at him.


	4. Italy

**Sakura02: Thanks for that! I keep having random nightmares with Germany wearing a pink frilly apron and it's absolutely terrifying. **

**Thanks: Miss Snicket McGidgette, camitake, LuckyKat10, Liberty Girl In the Sky, and H3TaLiAn FaNaTiC for your reviews!**

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"What are you doing, Arktos?"

Arktos tilted his head back as far as he could, causing himself to fall onto his back. "Feli!" He said with a huge grin.

Feliciano grinned as he scooped Arktos off the ground. "America is busy again today so I get to play with you!"

"Okay." Arktos allowed Feliciano to take his hand and lead him away. It had been a few months since America had found Arktos and Arktos was finally beginning to adjust to his new life. He didn't get to see much of the other countries save for at meetings. Aside from America, Feliciano was one of Arktos's favorite people. He was always willing to play with Arktos when America was too busy to do so.

Feliciano grinned and scooped Arktos up, putting the little toddler on his shoulders. "What would you like to do today, Arktos?"

Arktos rested his chin on Italy's head and thought for a bit. His face lit up and he smacked Feliciano on the head. "Painting!"

Feliciano grinned. "All right!" Feliciano ran off towards his house as quickly as he could. As soon as they were through the door, Feliciano put Arktos on the ground and rushed off to find paper, brushes, and paint.

Arktos waited patiently for Feliciano's return. He waited patiently in the living room, looking around in awe at all the different paintings that were hanging on the walls. He perked up when Feliciano came back into the room with all the supplies.

Feliciano spread all the paint and paper out on the floor, not really caring if any paint dripped onto the carpet. It could always be cleaned up later and even if it stained…well…it gave the carpet character. He began painting a landscape of the countryside, humming happily to himself the whole time.

Arktos frowned thoughtfully down at his paper, unsure of what to draw. He chewed idly on the end of his paint brush and frowned down at his paper. He tugged on Feliciano's ear and pouted.

"What's wrong, Arktos?" Feliciano asked, pausing in his painting.

"I don't know." Arktos smacked his paper to emphasis his point.

Feliciano grinned and scooted closer to Arktos. "You don't know what to paint?"

Arktos shook his head. He tried to look at Feliciano's picture and frowned when Feliciano covered it up. "Let me see!"

"No." Feliciano said. "You have to paint something you like. What's something you like, Arktos?"

"Candy?" Arktos said slowly and thoughtfully.

Feliciano laughed. "There's that. Is there something else you like? What about your family?"

Arktos tilted his head to the side curiously. "Family?"

"Yeah! You know, your brothers…sisters…" He frowned as Arktos shook his head rapidly. "Mom? Dad? Grandma? Grandpa?" Each time, Arktos shook his head negatively.

"What's family?" Arktos asked again.

Feliciano frowned, fishing around for the best way to explain what a family is. "Um…well…it's the people that take care of you and you take care of them. They love you no matter what you do. They're the people that will always be there for you…" He stopped talking when he saw that Arktos was drawing quickly. He tried to look and see what the little toddler was drawing quickly and rapidly. Feliciano went back to finishing his own painting.

Arktos furrowed his eyebrows as he focused solely on his picture. He wanted his picture to be absolutely perfect. He wasn't sure how long he had been painting, but by the time he was done with his picture, he was covered in all different colors of paint. "Done!" He crowed triumphantly. "Feli, I show you!"

Feliciano stopped his own painting to peer over Arktos's shoulder at the picture. He blinked and tilted his head to the side. "It's great, Arktos! Um…what is it?"

Arktos looked at Feliciano as though he were a complete moron. Impatiently, Arktos pointed to a yellow blur. "Big brother, Feli, Japan-ni, 'Ermany…" He continued listing all the different countries he had gotten to meet. He looked up at Feliciano as he pointed at the tiniest paint blur. "Me. My family."

It took Feliciano a moment to process what Arktos was saying. When he finally realized that Arktos was calling all the countries his family, he began bawling and snuggling with Arktos. "I just love you soooo much, Arktos! We'll always be your family, no matter what!"

Arktos's eyes widened as Feliciano continued hugging him tightly. "Ouchie! Bad Feliciano!" He smacked Feliciano on the arm repeatedly until he put him down.

Feliciano grinned sheepishly and released Arktos. "Sorry, Arktos."

Arktos smiled up at Feliciano. "It okay." He perked up when he heard a knock at the door. "Big Brother!" He grabbed Feliciano's hand and dragged him over to the door, bouncing up and down excitedly while Feliciano opened the door.

"Hi, Arktos!" America grinned as Arktos jumped into his arms. "Were you good while I was gone?"

Arktos nodded his head rapidly. "I good boy." He reached out and hugged Feliciano quickly before America started walking away. "Bye, Feli!"

Feliciano waved as America walked away with Arktos. He went back into his house and into the living room to clean up. He blinked when he realized Arktos had left his picture behind. He was about to chase America and Arktos down, but decided against it. Feliciano put the painting up on the wall beside his own paintings. He grinned widely when he realized how good the picture looked up on the wall.


	5. Japan

**Sakura02: No! He was painting a pretty tree! Don't hate on yourself! I'll throw Ludwig at you!**

**Thank you: Liberty Girl In the Sky, Slytherin Studios, Random reviewer, and ****H3TaLiAn FaNaTiC**** for reviewing!**

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"Japan, where are you?" America shouted, Arktos clinging tightly to his hand as the two of them looked around for the elusive country.

Arktos looked around himself in complete awe. He'd never been to Japan's home. It was one of the prettiest ones in his opinion. The light breeze was warm and felt good against Arktos's skin. There were cherry blossom trees everywhere, their branches bowing lightly in the breeze. "Japan-ni!" Arktos called out in his tiny little voice.

"In here." A weak voice groaned out from behind a door just off to the side of where America and Arktos were walking.

America barged into the room only to find Japan laying under blankets, his face paler than normal and an odd flush to his cheeks. "What's wrong, Japan?" America shouted loudly, causing Japan to groan and turn his head away from the blinding light that had been let in through the open door.

"I'm afraid I've come down with a bit of a cold. Is there something you needed, America-san?" Japan asked, his voice hoarse. He tried to sit up, but all that resulted in was a rather harsh cough ripping through him. Japan blinked as Arktos was suddenly beside him. "What's wrong, Arktos-chan?"

Arktos frowned up at Japan. He gently pushed against Japan's arm. "Go night-night." He said simply, waiting impatiently for Japan to obey.

"Good idea, Arktos!" America shouted. "You need to rest, Japan, so that you'll feel better!"

"Shhh, Big Bwother." Arktos hissed at America. "Japan-ni sick. Be quiet so he go night-night."

America quickly clamped his mouth shut. He crouched down beside Japan and Arktos. "I'll go see if I can find some medicine and food for you, Japan. Arktos, you stay here and watch Japan."

Before Japan could protest, America had already left the room. He glanced at Arktos and gave the boy a small, tired smile. "You don't have to stay in here, Arktos-chan. Go outside and play. It's a beautiful day."

Arktos shook his head stubbornly, scooting closer to Japan's side. "I stay." He declared and that was the end of that conversation. Arktos did his best to help Japan feel better. He changed the cool cloth on Japan's forehead when Japan asked him to and he even tucked the blankets in tighter around him. "Go night-night, Japan-ni." Arktos insisted, keeping his voice low so as not to aggravate Japan.

Japan gave a weary smile and shook his head. "I can't." He looked up as a servant brought in a tray with hot soup and a steaming tea. "Where is America-san?"

"Oh, he left a while ago." The servant said quietly. She sighed when she saw that Arktos was still there. "I'll send someone to find him and remind him he left Arktos-chan here." She put the tray beside Japan and bowed before shuffling out.

Arktos rolled his eyes. That was so typical of his big brother to forget him. "Eat." He ordered Japan.

Again, Japan shook his head as he slowly sat up. "I'm not very hungry, Arktos-chan. I'll eat it later."

"No. Now." Arktos argued. He took a spoonful of soup, holding it tightly in his clumsy hands. He held it up to Japan. "Ahhh." He ordered, opening his mouth wide to show Japan what he wanted him to do.

Japan sighed. "Arktos, this really isn't…" His voice was cut off as Arktos shoved the spoon into his mouth. He swallowed the hot liquid and sighed. The soup felt quite good on his sore throat. "I suppose I could eat a little…"

Arktos sat beside Japan, making sure he ate all of his soup. America was always telling him he had to finish all the food on his plate so as not to be wasteful. If he couldn't be wasteful, he was going to make sure no one else was. "One more bite." He encouraged Japan.

Japan sighed and swallowed the last spoonful of soup. He blinked tiredly as Arktos was holding up the cup of tea to him. He smiled weakly at Arktos as he took the cup away. Japan patted Arktos on the head before drinking his tea. "You're such a good boy, Arktos-chan."

"I know." Arktos said with a wide grin. "No, go night-night." He commanded Japan.

Japan didn't have the strength to argue. He laid back down and allowed Arktos to tuck him back in. He smiled again as Arktos let out a big yawn. "You need to take a nap too."

Arktos nodded, curling up beside Japan. He wasn't worried about catching Japan's cold. After all, he lived in one of the coldest climates in the whole world. It would be embarrassing if he did catch a cold. "Night-night, Japan-ni."

"Good night, Arktos-chan."

**I'm sorry that the chapters are short right now, everyone. They'll start getting longer after a couple more chapters, I promise!**


	6. Black Magic

**I am sorry for not updating this story in so long! I promise I will be much more consistent with updating this story!**

**Sakura02: I'm sorry you couldn't sleep :( . Yeah, America tends to fail at the whole not wasting food thing.**

**Thanks: reviewer with no name, Sweetwater-Rhapsody, Deidei-chan111, BANEHiwatari, Rina-The-Angel-Of-Pure-Death, and H3tAlIaN fAnAtIc for reviewing.**

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England glanced up from the vast amount of paperwork laid out before him on his desk. He could hear the sound of someone outside his home. Glancing out the window, it took him a moment to realize it was Arktos. The little boy was sitting in the middle of the garden and splashing about happily in a rather large puddle of mud. "Arktos!"

Arktos whined and pouted as he was suddenly scooped up and out of the mud puddle. He'd been having a good deal of fun. He pouted up at England as the older country carried him into the house. "Boo!"

"You're filthy!" England exclaimed, taking Arktos straight to the bathroom. While he waited for the bath to fill with water, England impatiently yanked Arktos's filthy clothes off. "What are you doing here, Arktos?" He asked when he finally got the toddler into the bathtub.

Arktos continued to pout as England dumped water over his head. "I lost Big Brother." He sniffled out.

England sighed and rubbed his eyes. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted America to get Arktos. He knew how irresponsible America was. "Don't worry, Arktos. I'll have some of my people find him and inform him that you're here."

"Thank you, England." Arktos beamed up at him. Feeling slightly better now, Arktos began happily splashing around in the tub. Once England was satisfied that the little boy was clean enough, England took him from the tub and dried him off before redressing Arktos in said boy's now clean clothes.

England led Arktos back to his study. "I have some work to do so please sit quietly until America comes to get you."

Arktos tried his best to follow England's orders. He sat on the floor by England and simply stared up at the ceiling. That entertained him for about three minutes. He then began crawling around the study, trying to find something to entertain himself with. He frowned when he realized there were no toys anywhere in sight. Japan, Feliciano, and Germany always kept toys on hand in case America lost Arktos and he wound up at their homes. England didn't have anything but books. Arktos pouted and began pulling books off the shelves.

Most of the books had nothing but words filling their pages. Arktos frowned and shoved the books roughly away from him. They were so boring. He stopped on one book. There were lots of words in this book, like the others. Unlike the others, though, there were also quite a few interesting pictures on the pages. Arktos pushed the book across the floor to England (it was far too heavy for him to pick up). He plopped down at England's feet and tugged on his pants. "England?"

England did his best to ignore the little boy. He had too much paperwork to do to be distracted. By the time Arktos had said his name for the twelfth time, England snapped. "What, Arktos? What do you want?"

Arktos pointed at the picture in the book. "What's that?"

"Oh…that…it's nothing." England quickly tried to scoop his black magic book up and away from the little toddler.

Arktos frowned and stubbornly held onto the other end of the book. "No!"

England hesitated before picking the book up along with Arktos. He looked at the boy dangling from the other end of the book. "Do you want to learn how to do black magic?" At Arktos's rapid nod, England continued. "All right. I'll teach you. You must listen and do as I tell you, though. Understand?"

"Yes!" Arktos exclaimed excitedly. He had no clue what black magic was, but it sounded far more exciting than just sitting around and staring at the ceiling. He obediently followed England down to the basement of the mansion. He looked around in awe at all the candles along the wall and the strange drawing at the center of the room. "What's that?"

"This is a summoning circle." England explained. "We are going to summon the greatest evil to vanquish America."

"Yay! Vanquish!" Arktos cheered. Again, he had no clue what vanquish meant, but England seemed so excited about it that he just couldn't help himself. "Vanquish! Vanquish!"

England nodded approvingly. "Now, Arktos, you sit back and watch. If you say the wrong words, it could ruin the spell."

Arktos nodded solemnly. He sat down on the floor and listened as England began chanting in some strange language. He blinked when he swore the candles in the room began to flicker and waver and the shadows began dancing on the walls. "Wow…" He breathed out. He tilted his head to the side curiously as the circle began glowing.

England stepped back, a look of satisfaction on his face. "Now, we shall vanquish America with…"

"Ahhh!" Arktos screamed as Russia's head popped up from the center of the circle. Russia always scared Arktos. It seemed England was rather terrified too as he took a hesitant step back. "Make him go bye-bye! Make him go bye-bye!" Arktos howled.

England quickly released the spell. Both he and Arktos breathed a sigh of relief as Russia disappeared. "As you can see, Arktos, black magic is very dangerous and you should never do it. Understand?"

"Yes!" Arktos nodded quickly. He didn't think he'd ever want to try black magic. Not if it meant Russia would randomly pop up.

"Um, sir," A servant hesitantly poked his head down the stairwell. "America is hear to pick up Arktos."

"We'll be right up." England said. Once the servant disappeared, England turned to Arktos. "We will never tell the others about this, okay?"

"Okay." Arktos promised. He followed England up the stairs and towards the foyer where America was waiting. "Vanquish America later?" He asked.

England laughed and took Arktos's hand. "Of course."


	7. Scary Movies

**Argh! I swear I'm getting back on track with updating, everyone! Things have been so crazy with my little sister moving out of the house (so sad!), me getting a new car (amazing!), and getting ready for school. **

**Southerners Rulez: America probably just got distracted… :)**

**Sakura02: Everything will turn out okay in the end! Just think of the Talking Stick XD**

**Anonymous: I'm glad you like all my stories! It's hard to keep up with all of them, but having such awesome reviewers keeps me motivated.**

**Thank you: Liberty Girl in the Sky, kawaiipandaz, Yami Mizuna, and Wolfsbane-Nin for reviewing!**

* * *

"Okay, Arktos, are you ready?" America fixed Arktos's jacket one more time, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Arktos nodded his head rapidly. His little hand clung tightly to America's much larger hand. America had agreed to take him to one of the world meetings! Arktos had been so excited, though he wasn't really sure what a world meeting was. He knew America had taken him to a world meeting when he'd first found him, but nothing had really been accomplished at that meeting. After that, America would always just leave Arktos at home whenever there was a meeting. This time, though, he'd taken Arktos with him. "Save the world!"

America laughed heartily, leading Arktos down the hallway towards the meeting room. "That's right! As the heroes of the world, it's our job to save everyone!" He slammed open the door to the meeting room, a broad grin on his face. "Never fear, the hero is here!"

England rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Just sit down and shut up, you git."

"Hooray! You brought Arktos!" Italy cheered, skipping over and snuggling the little boy. "I missed you, Arktos!"

Arktos smiled and waved at all the countries that greeted him. He sat in America's lap and looked around the large table. Already, some of the countries were arguing, which made the little country very sad. He liked all of them (some to a lesser extent than others) and he didn't understand why they all fought so much. "Russia, no." Arktos scolded when he saw Russia picking on poor Lithuania.

Russia smiled over at Arktos. "Arktos, do you want to come live with me?"

"No!" Arktos quickly shook his head and pulled America's jacket tightly around him so that Russia could no longer see him.

Germany sighed in annoyance. "Would you all just shut up so we can get this meeting over with?" Everyone fell silent for a bit, but then quickly went back to arguing and picking on each other.

Arktos felt bad for poor Germany. He wished there was some way he could help him, but he was so little. No one would really listen to him. The meeting was finally called to an end when Romano stood up and threw a tomato at Germany. Germany had avoided the tomato, but Hungary had been smacked right in the face with it. After Hungary had thoroughly beaten Romano with her frying pan, Germany called the meeting adjourned.

America laughed heartily and walked out of the room with Arktos holding his hand. "Wasn't that fun, Arktos?"

"No." Arktos said sadly. "I don't like fighting, Big Brother. Why they fight?"

America smiled sadly down at the little country. He picked Arktos up and cradled him in his arms. "It's just the way things are, Arktos. You know, England was the one that found me. He was my big brother for a long time, but then we got in a big fight."

Arktos's eyes widened in surprise. He'd never heard this story before. "Why?"

"Well…it's complicated." America said slowly. "England did things I didn't like, and I did things he didn't like. Now, he can barely stand the sight of me. I want to be a better big brother to you. I don't want us to fight like England and I did."

Arktos hugged America tightly. "We won't! I love Big Brother!"

America squealed and hugged Arktos tightly. "I love you too! You're the best baby brother in the whole world! Come on, let's go home!"

* * *

Arktos looked nervously at the television as the opening credits began to roll. He looked pleadingly up at America who was sitting beside him on the couch. "I don't like it, Big Brother. Watch something else."

America laughed nervously. "Don't be scared, Arktos. It's just a stupid horror movie. It can't hurt us." He was trying to put on a brave face for his baby brother, but he was just as terrified as Arktos, if not more so.

Arktos took a deep breath and tried to be just as brave as his big brother. He was a hero, just like his big brother. Heroes didn't get scared. Not by monsters under the bed, not by other countries, and not by scary dead people crawling backwards down the stairs. Arktos screamed and covered his eyes. "I don't like it! I don't like it! Make it go away, Big Brother!"

America screamed as well and quickly turned the television off. He laughed nervously and shakily patted Arktos on the head. "That wasn't so bad, was it? It's time for you to go to bed, Arktos."

"I don't wanna." Arktos whimpered out. He held his arms up to his big brother and waited for America to pick him up. He sniffled and buried his face in America's neck. "I'm scared."

America grinned and patted Arktos's back. "There's nothing to be scared of, Arktos." He walked up to Arktos's room and helped the little country into his pajamas. "Want me to check for monsters?"

Arktos nodded rapidly, clinging to his teddy bear that America had gotten just for him. He watched his brother look under his bed, behind his dresser, and in his closet. "No monsters?"

"No monsters." America confirmed. He smoothed Arktos's hair down and tucked him into bed. "Go to sleep, okay? I've got a big surprise for you in the morning."

"Okay." Arktos whispered. "Good night, Big Brother. I love you, Big Brother."

America smiled and stood up from the bed. He walked over to the door and turned off Arktos's light. "I love you too, Arktos." He shut the door behind him quietly, leaving Arktos in the darkness.

Arktos lay in his bed with his teddy bear. He tried his best to go to sleep just like his big brother had told him to. Every time he closed his eyes, though, all he saw was dead faces and machete wielding maniacs. One time, he swore he felt something crawling beneath his covers.

Not able to stand it any longer, Arktos hopped from his bed and ran to the door. He ran down the hallway and towards America's room, crying the whole time. He opened the door to America's room and went to his bedside. "Wake up, Big Brother." Arktos cried, shaking America's shoulder. "Wake up. I'm scared."

America groaned and slowly woke up. He bit back a scream when he realized it was just Arktos standing beside his bed. "What's wrong, Arktos? Did you have a bad dream?"

Arktos nodded his head rapidly. "I'm scared, Big Brother. I wanna sleep with you."

America sighed, but scooted over for the little boy. He smiled and smoothed the distraught child's hair down. "Better?"

Arktos snuggled against America's side and smiled happily. He knew the monsters couldn't get him now. His big brother would protect him. His big brother wouldn't let anything happen to him. "Night-night, Big Brother."

"Good night, Arktos." America said. Both he and Arktos fell back asleep at the same time.


	8. New Home

**Sakura02: Well, of course you sense foreshadowing; you know what's going to happen! :) If it makes you feel any better, every time I typed America laughing, I heard his laugh in my head.**

**Thank you: Tailsdoll123, Yami Mizuna, Wolfsbane-Nin, and ilovezim123 for reviewing!**

* * *

"Please don't make that face, Arktos." America sighed patiently. He finished putting on his jacket before kneeling down in front of the very upset toddler. "I'll only be gone for a few days. There's plenty of servants here to take care of you."

Arktos stood in the large, unfamiliar entryway by himself. America had brought him to his home in his own country. For the past few days, America had been staying with Arktos, helping the little boy become familiar with his new home. Now, though, America had to return to his own home to take care of his people. "Don't go, Big Brother! Stay with me, please!"

America shuffled nervously, torn between reaching for his little brother and holding him close or making a run for it. He finally scooped Arktos up and gave the boy a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back in a few days, I promise."

It took Arktos a moment to realize that he had been put down and that the front door had been closed. "Big Brother!" Arktos wailed out, his little hands reaching out to where America had once been standing. Arktos cried and cried for minutes on end, hoping his big brother would come back.

When the door was opened, it wasn't America that stepped in. "Why are you crying, Arktos?"

"Feli!" Arktos bawled, rushing over to Italy and hugging the older country. "Big Brother left!"

Italy smiled and picked the toddler up. "There, there. Germany and I will stay with you for today."

Arktos looked over Italy's shoulder. A wide smile spread across his face when he saw the stoic man standing in the doorway. He reached out and waved. "Hi, 'Ermany!"

Germany gave Arktos a small smile. "Yo, Arktos." He took the still reaching toddler from Italy and held the boy stiffly in his arms. "Hey, stop crying already. You're not hurt are you?"

Arktos suddenly remembered why he had been crying in the first place. His tears welled back up in his eyes and he back crying at full force again. "Big Brother left! He not coming back!"

"Don't cry, Arktos!" Italy shouted, flailing his arms about wildly. "America will come back! He will!"

Germany shifted nervously. He hated when Arktos started crying. He pointed his finger in Arktos's face. "Stop it. Stop it right now."

Arktos stared at the finger pointed in his face. For a moment, he did stop crying. Then, his lower lip began trembling and he started crying even louder. "Big Brother!"

"That's not helping, Germany!" Italy whined. He took Arktos from Germany and bounced the little boy in his arms. "It's okay, Arktos. I know Germany can be really scary sometimes. America will be back in a few days. His boss needed him to do some things, so he had to go home for a little bit. He'll be back real soon, I promise."

Arktos sniffled and wiped his tears away with his chubby fist. "Big Brother work hard?"

Italy nodded excitedly. "Yes! America is working very hard! Why don't you show Germany and me around your home?"

Arktos's eyes lit up excitedly. He wiggled around until Italy put him down. He took both Germany and Italy's hands in his. He led them through all the different rooms on the first floor of the giant mansion. He first led them into the large living room complete with a fireplace, a large flat screen television, and the latest video game console. Bean bags were scattered around the couch and there was a Lego table in the corner of the room.

The study, kitchen and other rooms on the first floor were much less childlike. These rooms were ready for when Arktos got older and would be able to handle his country's affairs. For now, when America was there, he would work in the study on keeping Arktos's affairs in order.

"My room!" Arktos said excitedly, pulling the two older countries up the stairs towards his room.

Arktos's room was similar to the one he had had in America's home. The walls were painted a light blue. A huge toy chest filled to the brim was pushed against one wall with a bookshelf right next to it. Arktos's bed was on the opposite wall and covered in stuffed animals. The window in his room looked out on a small garden where his wooly mammoth roamed around.

"Wow, you have some really cool stuff, Arktos!" Italy exclaimed, immediately going over to the toy chest and pulling out a toy car. He drove it around on the soft carpet and towards Arktos.

Arktos squealed in delight and latched onto Germany's leg. He looked up at Germany excitedly before rushing forward and tackling Italy to the ground. He was feeling better about America having left. It was still difficult for him to understand why his big brother had to leave him and he was missing America terribly. If he had Italy, Germany, and his other friends visit him and play with him, though, then he felt a bit better about America not always being there.

Italy laid down on his back and held Arktos up in the air. "Do you like your home, Arktos?"

Arktos nodded slowly. "Yes." He looked thoughtfully around for a moment. "It's really big…and quiet."

Italy brought Arktos down to lay on his chest. He hugged the little boy close and smiled. "It'll be okay, Arktos. As long as you've got your big brother, me, Germany, and all your other friends, your home won't ever be too big or too quiet."

Arktos looked up at Italy and then turned his head over to Germany. "Stay?"

Germany sat down on the ground next to Italy. He patted the little boy's head and gave a small smile. "Sure. We can stay with you for the night."


	9. Happy Birthday, Arktos!

**I'm sorry for being gone so long. Hope you'll all enjoy this chapter!**

**Tailsdoll123: Thank you**

**Miss Snicket McGidgette: Don't worry; Arktos will be going to a few more world meetings.**

**Sakura02: Both are very frightening!**

* * *

"Big Brother, can't you just tell me where we're going?" Arktos whined. He held America's hand tightly. He had grown in the past few years, now coming up to just below America's waist.

America grinned down at the little boy. "I can't tell you. It's a surprise."

"Is it for my birthday?" Arktos asked excitedly. It was his fifth birthday and America had been acting very vague and strange all day.

"I can't tell you." America said. "You just need to be patient."

Arktos rolled his eyes. "You're one to talk. You whined the whole week until the new episode of Walking Dead finally came on."

America laughed heartily and ruffled Arktos's hair. "If you keep talking like that, I won't let you see your surprise."

Arktos puffed his cheeks out and glared up at America. "You're the meanest big brother in the whole world…well, aside from Romano…and Germany…and China…" He latched onto America's arm and lifted his legs up so that America would hoist him into the air.

"Okay, Arktos, you need to close your eyes." America said abruptly. He picked Arktos up and covered the little boy's eyes with his hand. "No peeking, okay?"

"I know." Arktos huffed out. He had to resist the strong urge to try and peek through America's fingers. He had a vague idea of where they were heading, but he wasn't quite sure why they'd be going there. "We're not going to another World Meeting are we? I hate meetings."

America laughed. "We always get so much done when you're there, though!"

"That's because you're all stupid and keep fighting." Arktos snipped back. Every single time they went to a meeting, it was the same routine. One country would irritate another one, then all the others would start fighting, and poor Germany would have to scream to be barely heard over the fighting. Eventually, Arktos would have to get on top of the table and scream at all of the adults to be quiet so they could get on with the meeting. "The fact that you adults listen to a five year old is kind of embarrassing."

America pouted even though Arktos couldn't see it. "You better be nice to your big brother or I won't take you to your surprise."

Arktos immediately stopped talking. He knew that it was only an empty threat from America, but he didn't want to take the chance that America would actually back up his threat this time. He perked up when he heard the sound of a door being open. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost." America said. He put Arktos down on the ground and took the little boy's hand. "You can open your eyes now."

Arktos opened his eyes and immediately deflated. "We are going to a meeting!"

America didn't say anything. He tugged Arktos down the familiar hallway towards the meeting room. "I promise, you're going to have the best birthday ever today."

Arktos rolled his eyes. "Going to a meeting isn't going to be fun." Arktos pushed the door open to the meeting room. He was rather surprised to find that the lights were completely off in the room. "Are we the first ones here? That never happens!" Arktos blinked when the lights were suddenly turned on.

"Happy Birthday, Arktos!" Italy pranced over and scooped the little country up. He nuzzled his cheek against the still confused Arktos's.

"Wait, so this isn't a meeting?" Arktos asked as Italy put him down on the ground.

America grinned and stood by his little brother. "Nope. This is a birthday party just for you!"

Arktos looked around the room. Almost every single country that he knew was there. He looked dubiously up at America. "Who planned this?"

"We all did!" Italy said proudly. "We all got together and planned this just for you!"

Arktos blinked. "But…that means you all had to work together!"

France pranced over and patted Arktos on the head. "Well of course! How else could we have planned this?"

Arktos looked around the large meeting room. It was decorated wall to wall with balloons, banners, and streamers. A large table of food was pushed against one wall with a eight tiered cake in the middle of it. Another table was piled high with brightly colored presents. He was still trying to process the fact that all the different countries had worked together just to plan a birthday party for him.

America grinned and ruffled Arktos's hair. "Let's get this party started!"

The next few hours were a blur of noise and excitement for Arktos. He spent time with all the different countries, even briefly talking to Russia. He blew out his candles with Italy's help, and then moved on to opening his presences. Germany was kind enough to help him keep track of who gave him what so that Arktos could later write them all thank you notes.

What amazed Arktos the most about the whole day was that none of the countries fought. At least, not as much or as violently as they usually did. Sure, England and America had a brief little tiff over how much England's food sucked. Romano had to get in a quip about Germany being a 'Potato Eating Bastard'. Other than a few minor instances like that, there were no huge blow ups like there usually were when everyone got together.

Eventually, the party began dying down. It took a few trips, but Arktos and America managed to haul all of the young country's gifts to the car that America had called for. Arktos said goodbye to all the countries and thanked them again for the party and presents.

"Did you have fun today, Arktos?" America asked as they drove away.

Arktos nodded sleepily. "Yes. Hey, Big Brother, about that tourism plan…"

"It's great, right?" America said excitedly. "You'll get so many tourist, which means even more revenue!"

"Yeah, but…"

"Trust me, Arktos." America cut Arktos off before the little boy could finish his sentence. "This'll be great for you."

"Okay." Arktos said reluctantly. He really wished America would listen to his ideas for his own country and people. Unfortunately, he always got ignored or shot down. He supposed his brother did know best what to do, but still he wished that America would for once just listen to him and let him do what he wanted to do.


	10. Peacekeeper

**Sakura02: Lol, I'm not sure who made the cake, only that it definitely wasn't America.  
Phoenix: I've got the whole story outlined. This story will be 25 chapters long **

**Thanks: Yami Mizuna and ilovezim123 for reviewing!**

* * *

"That has to be the dumbest, most ridiculous idea I've ever heard!" England snapped, glaring over at America. The meeting had only just started a few minutes ago, and already the nations were arguing about the most petty of things.

America crossed his arms and glared right back at England. "I think it's a great idea! We need to build a superhero robot to save us from aliens!"

"Honestly, you're both such unrefined morons." France huffed out.

Arktos sighed, leaning back in his chair and staring blankly up at the ceiling while all the nations continued to argue with each other. Honestly, he was amazed that they all hadn't killed each other already with how much everyone fought. He looked down when his chair suddenly began trembling violently. He peered over his armrest and sighed. "What are you doing down there, Feli?"

Feliciano reached up and pulled Arktos down onto the ground with him. He hugged the tiny country to him and rocked back and forth. "Everyone is being so scary right now. It's best they we just stay out of this, Arktos."

Arktos pouted, ducking his head as a chair flew by. "We've got to stop everyone. If they keep this up, we're never going to get anything done." Arktos wriggled out of Feliciano's grasp and climbed back into his chair. He stood up on it and cleared his throat, trying to get everyone's attention.

Everybody was so wrapped up in their own arguments, that none of them noticed little Arktos. "Um, guys?" Arktos tried, his voice so soft that nobody heard him. "Hey…" He moved his head to the side to avoid a wok that had been aimed at Germany. "Everyone if you…" He ducked down as a tomato was also thrown at Germany. He really needed to move his chair away from Germany. Feeling very irritated and annoyed, Arktos took a deep breath in and screamed. "Everyone, shut up!"

All the nations in the room froze and looked over at the red faced child. "What's wrong…" America began, trying to placate his little brother.

"All of you just sit down and shut up right now!" Arktos shouted, pointing to all the different countries. He was shocked when they all actually obeyed him. Puffing his little chest out, Arktos continued. "This is so stupid! You guys are supposed to be in charge of the world and all you do is fight! We're supposed to talk about our problems in these meetings, not beat each other with kitchen equipment. Now," He pulled a teddy bear out of his coat pocket and held it up. "This is The Talking Bear. If you have the bear, you get to speak. Everyone else has to be quiet. You can only have The Talking Bear for five minutes and you don't get it back until everyone has gotten a turn. If you talk when it's not your turn, you miss your next turn. Germany will bring up all the topics we need to talk about today. Do you all understand?"

While everyone else nodded, Romano scoffed. "There's no way I'm listening to a bratty kid like you. I'm not holding some stupid teddy bear…" His sentence was cut off due to Arktos's boot being thrown into his face.

Arktos waved the teddy bear in the air. "You don't have The Talking Bear right now, Romano. You miss your first turn." He turned to Germany and smiled. "So, what's the first topic?"

Germany cleared his throat and looked down at the agenda. "Um, alternative energy sources."

"Okay." Arktos looked around the table at all the silent countries. "Who wants to go first?" He looked suspiciously over at Feliciano. "If your answer has something to do with pasta, women, or white flags, put your hand down." Once Feliciano put his hand down with a pout, Arktos looked around. He climbed up onto the table and walked over to Japan. He handed the teddy bear to Japan and smiled. "You can start, Japan-nii."

Japan watched Arktos walk back to his seat before clearing his throat and beginning to speak. Arktos kept track of the time, instructing Japan to pass it to the person on his right when he was finished. The rest of the meeting continued this way, with only a few hiccups along the way. There were no more screaming matches, so Arktos considered the meeting an overall success.

"You were awesome, Arktos!" Feliciano cheered, hugging the little nation tightly. "Not even Germany can get everyone to listen to him like that!"

Arktos grinned proudly. "Thanks. I'm gonna go say bye to Liechtenstein." He ran over to the quiet country and tugged on her shirt. "Hey, Liechtenstein, can I come over and play soon? You said I could."

Liechtenstein smiled and patted Arktos's head. "Of course. Just make sure your big brother is okay with it."

Arktos immediately deflated. "Big Brother won't let me go. He wants to work on his plan for my country. He never lets me use my ideas and he doesn't listen to me."

"Why don't you tell him how you feel?" Liechtenstein suggested, crouching down so she was at Arktos's height. "If you tell America how you really feel, I'm sure he'll listen to you. He loves you a lot, you know."

Arktos smiled at Liechtenstein and hugged her. "Thanks, Liechtenstein. I'll see you later! Bye, Switzerland!" He said when the other nation came up to stand beside Liechtenstein.

"There you are!" America exclaimed when Arktos ran over. He picked the little boy up and hugged him. "I was wondering where you'd run off to. Come on; we need to talk about how we're going to use those natural resources of yours." He put Arktos down and took the little boy's hand, leading him away from the meeting house.

Arktos took a deep breath. "Hey, Big Brother, about all that…"

"I think you've got a lot of potential in the fishing industry, but you've also got a lot of lumber." America blabbered on, completely ignoring Arktos's attempts to speak up.

For some reason, Arktos just couldn't bring himself to yell at his big brother like he had all the others in the meeting. He loved his big brother more than anyone else in the entire world, and he knew America was just trying to do what he thought was best for Arktos. Even so, Arktos just wished America would listen to him for once.

America finally stopped in front of Arktos's home. He was staying with Arktos for a bit to work out the plans for making Arktos into a more developed country. He smiled brightly down at his little brother. "Hey, Arktos, were you trying to say something earlier?"

Arktos opened and closed his mouth a few times. This was his chance to tell America how he was really feeling. His big brother was finally listening to him. Arktos looked up at America's smiling face and sighed. He plastered a smile on his own face and squeezed America's hand. "No…it's nothing…"

"Great! So, here's what I was thinking…" America babbled, completely missing the deflated face Arktos made as they walked into Arktos's home.


	11. A Day With Big Brother

**Sorry for the long wait, guys. For some reason, I've been having a hard time updating this story. Thank you all for being so patient.**

**Dreamwalker20: Yes, I'm familiar with Texas's brief history as its own country. I'm a proud born and raised Texas girl. I'm not sure if Texas will get its own story, but perhaps a cameo in this one. We'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for reviewing!  
Sakura02: It's hard to accomplish things when you have America for a brother.  
Authoresses of the Red Rose: I can't spoil anything for future chapters. This next couple of chapters won't be emo, but it will start going downhill.**

**Thank you: TarrelYoukai, erica. phoneix16, Phoenix, 9foxgrl, Littlecosma001, akasukifangirl, Blood-Drops, and Ren for reviewing!**

* * *

"Arktos, wake up!" America called, poking the little sleeping country in the cheek. He frowned when Arktos simply grumbled and turned away from him. "Arktos, come on. You've got to get ready."

"No." Arktos grouched, pulling the covers over his head. "I don't want to go to any more meetings."

America grinned and yanked the covers off of Arktos. "We're not going to any meetings. I just thought we could spend the day together. You know, hang out like we used to when you were itty bitty."

Arktos peered suspiciously out from under his covers. He sat up and looked at his older brother. "No meetings? No talking about natural resources or anything?"

"Right!" America said excitedly. "No business today."

"Why?" Arktos asked curiously. For the past couple of weeks, they'd done nothing but talk about how best to develop Arktos as a country. Well, America talked. Arktos just sat quietly beside his older brother and occasionally nodded when it was appropriate.

America chuckled nervously. "No special reason. I just want to spend time with my baby brother. We can do whatever you want to do today."

Arktos hummed thoughtfully. America seemed up to something. Arktos looked over at the wide grin on America's face and sighed. "Okay. Let me get dressed."

Arktos took his time getting ready once America had left the room. He tried to get his wild hair to stay down, but it stubbornly refused. Arktos looked out the window of his bedroom at the small village outside his home. There weren't a lot of people living in his country yet, but it was a good number.

"Arktos, are you ready?" America whined from downstairs.

"Coming!" Arktos pulled his hood up over his head and ran out of his room. He went downstairs where America was impatiently waiting. "Sorry, Big Brother."

America grinned and took Arktos's hand. "No worries. Come on."

"Where are we going, Big Brother?" Arktos asked curiously.

"It's a surprise." America said, the grin never leaving his face. He led Arktos through the small village and out of it. They walked for a few miles with America filling the silence with chatter. He told Arktos about all the great new movies coming out soon.

Arktos nodded a few times, still trying to figure out where they were going. Finally, the two stopped at a rather large stream. Arktos looked dubiously up at his brother. "What are we doing here?"

America let go of Arktos's hand. "Wait here." He ran over to a small grouping of trees and pulled something out that Arktos couldn't see. America turned around and held up two fishing poles. "Ta da!"

"Fishing?" Arktos asked. "You know how to fish?"

America huffed and walked back over to Arktos. He handed the smaller fishing pole to Arktos, then sat himself down on a boulder and prepared his line. "Yes, I know how to fish! I wasn't always as awesome as I am now. I know that's hard to believe."

Arktos sat down beside America. He tried to set his line just like America, but he was having a hard time of it. "Stupid line…"

America laughed. "Here, let me show you." He held up his own line and went step by step with Arktos on what to do. The two cast out and sat quietly beside each other for a few minutes. "England taught me how to fish when I was little."

Arktos looked up at America. "Why don't you and England make up? I think you two really miss each other."

America sighed, watching the water in front of him. "It's…complicated. You see, Arktos, it's hard for adults to apologize, especially when both feel like they're in the right."

"So, both of you should just apologize." Arktos argued.

"It's just not that simple." America said, and that was the end of that conversation.

Arktos was the first to catch a fish. With America's help, he managed to reel in the large fish. They settled back down to try and catch some more. "Am I ever going to get recognized as a country?"

America reeled in a fish of his own. "You will eventually. It may just take some time. You have to be patient."

"You're one to talk." Arktos huffed out. "You aren't patient at all."

America laughed. "Trust me, being a country isn't all it's cracked up to be. You're boss gets mad if you don't do things his way, but then the other countries get mad because they don't like the way you do things. You can never please everyone."

"I think if everyone would just work together, it wouldn't have to be that hard." Arktos said. "If everyone stopped just looking out for themselves, and started helping each other with no other motives, I think this world could be a lot better."

"Good luck trying to tell that to everyone." America laughed. "Some of them are super old, and set in their ways. It's going to take a lot to make them change."

Arktos pouted, pulling in a smaller fish than last time. "I'll do it. I'll make everyone listen."

After they'd caught a good number of fish, America built up a fire. The two cooked their fish and ate them there on the shore of the stream. Arktos looked over at America, debating whether or not he should say anything. He liked the very rare moments like this where America was quiet.

It was America who finally broke the silence. "Arktos, are you really serious about being recognized as a country?"

Arktos was quiet for a moment. Finally, he nodded his head. "Yes. I want to try and help everyone."

America's face lit up. He pulled a paper out from his jacket pocket and unfolded it. "Then, we'll need to get busy. See, I've drawn up a plan for you on how to best get recognized…"

Arktos sighed, but didn't interrupt. Once again, America was trying to take complete control. Arktos nodded at all the appropriate moments. Arktos didn't agree with everything that America was saying to him, but surely America knew what was best for Arktos to get recognized. Arktos just wished he could spend one day with his big brother without business being brought up.


	12. Recognition

**I am so sorry for the long wait between updates! School comes before everything else, even my own writing. I'll try to update more frequently. I've only got one more year of college, and the workload is definitely starting to kick my butt.**

**Sakura02: Lol, that's okay. Every time I write about Germany yelling, I hear the blooper from the movie XD**

**Thanks: Littlecosma001, erica. phoenix16, FanFictionlover1, Phoenix, and Dreamwalker20 for your reviews!**

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Arktos was awake even before the servants in his small mansion. He was amazed that he'd even been able to sleep at all last night. Today was the day. After months of hard work, and following America's advice, Arktos was finally going to be recognized as a country at today's meeting.

He looked out his window at the large township where there had once only been a tiny village. There were many villages and townships scattered throughout the country now. America had already drawn up plans for large cities to be built within months. Arktos wasn't sure how much he cared for the plans, but America insisted he knew best.

The sound of someone knocking on the door roused Arktos from his thoughts. He took the stairs three at a time before coming to a skidding halt before the door. He grinned sheepishly over at one of his startled servants, and answered the door himself. "Big Brother!"

America grinned down at Arktos, and hugged the little boy. "Are you ready for today? This is a big day for you!"

Arktos nodded excitedly. He latched onto America's arm, and began tugging him away. "Yes! We have to hurry. I don't want to be late."

America laughed, and allowed the little boy to drag him towards the car. "We won't be late."

"You're always late." Arktos pointed out as they climbed into the car. He stared out the window of the car. He tried to tune out America blathering about all the different possibilities for the open countryside. Arktos finally dared to say something. "I like the countryside, though. Can't we leave it alone?"

America was quiet for a moment, and finally looked at Arktos for the first time. Once Arktos finally made eye contact with America, the older country grinned. "Well, we'll leave a little bit of open country for farming, but the rest will need to be developed. It doesn't do much good for you otherwise."

"I guess you're right." Arktos said quietly. He was silent the rest of the to the airport. Silently, he berated himself for not speaking up to America. What could he do, though? America was his big brother, and was only trying to help him become the best country he could be.

The airplane ride was filled with America chattering excitedly about his plans for Arktos's farmland and city plans. Arktos was relieved when they finally landed. The two quickly rushed into the building, both ignoring Sealand. Arktos felt guilty, but he didn't have time to stop and talk to the slightly older boy. "I told you we were going to be late."

America waved his hand dismissively. "It's not like they can do anything without us."

England glared over at America as they entered the room. "So nice of you to finally join us."

Arktos took his customary seat between Italy and Japan. "Sorry, England-san."

England didn't turn his glare away from America. "I doubt this was your fault Arktos."

"It's not like we were that late." America snipped back.

Germany cleared his throat to try and get everyone's attention. "Now that everyone is here, let's begin the meeting."

Arktos shifted impatiently in his seat as they began dealing with the usual business of meetings. He blinked when he felt a hand on his head.

Feliciano smiled brightly down at him. "Congratulations, Arktos."

"It's not official yet." Arktos whispered quietly when Germany glared over at them. "Everyone still has to vote."

"They'll all definitely recognize you." Feliciano assured. "You'll make a great country."

Arktos gave Feliciano a small smile. "Thank you, Feli."

Finally, it was time for everyone to vote. Arktos held his breath while Germany called for those that agreed that Arktos to be recognized to raise their hands. There were only a couple that didn't raise them. Romano was one of them, but he quickly raised his hand when Feliciano turned watery eyes on him. Another was one of the countries that Arktos didn't know that well. He thought the man's name was Denmark, but he couldn't really remember.

Germany cleared his throat to settle the excited chatter down. "Well then, it has been officially decided that Arktos is now a recognized country. Congratulations, Arktos."

Arktos grinned widely as Feliciano and a few others cheered loudly. He'd been waiting for this day for what felt like forever.

"Party at my place!" America shouted, causing a new wave of cheers.

A few hours later and everyone was at America's home celebrating. Arktos did his best to say hello to everyone, but there were just so many countries. He was relieved when he finally saw Liechtenstein sitting on a sofa a few feet away. He went and sat beside her. "Hi, Liechtenstein."

Liechtenstein smiled and patted Arktos's head. "Hi, Arktos. Did you talk to America about your feelings?" She didn't miss the way Arktos's shoulders sagged. "It's okay. Sometime, the people we love the most are the hardest ones to talk to."

"He just doesn't listen to me." Arktos huffed out. "Every time I try and talk to him, he just ignores me, and just keeps talking about whatever he wants. What am I going to do?"

Liechtenstein pulled Arktos into a one armed hug. "Don't worry, Arktos. You'll figure out the right thing to do. In the end, you are the one that knows what is best for your people."

Arktos smiled at the sweet country. "Thank you, Liechtenstein."

The party finally died down around two in the morning. Arktos was exhausted, and didn't feel much like a long plane ride. America insisted that Arktos stay the night. America took Arktos up to his old room, and tucked the exhausted new country into bed. "Good night, Arktos. We'll talk more about the city plans tomorrow."

Arktos was too tired to argue with America. He looked up at America, wishing the older country could see how upset Arktos was about the whole business. He sighed when America simply grinned down at him. "Okay. Good night, Big Brother."


End file.
